The present invention relates to a method of processing a solution which includes a metal or a metal salt.
Sonic devices for imersion in materials in the liquid phase are known and have taken the form of batch processors or continuous processors. As understood to those skilled in the art, sonic generally refers to frequencies below 20 kHz and ultrasonic to those above this frequency. Plating solutions and solutions from photographic processing are usually processed using ion-exchange resin or a calcium salt or some other precipitant or flocculant. These systems are not entirely satisfactory as the sludge contains many added chemical agents that cause secondary polution.
Distillation by the use of ultra-sonics is known as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,848, but there has never been disclosed, a system for the removal of water in plating or photographic solutions and leaving behind a material that can be reprocessed to recover noble or other metals. Material treatment of a flow-thru type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,467 where ultra-sonics are used.